Crossed Boundaries
by courderouge2006
Summary: Two warriors with years of fighting under their belts, fighting the same battle on different grounds. When one crosses those lines, can it ever go smoothly? Not for the kids, mature elements and language. I own none of these characters.


Crossover story that's been in my head for a little while now. I'm not familiar with the 8th season of Buffy in comic book form, so this doesn't draw on that at all. Also haven't seen season nine of Smallville. This picks up from the end of Season 8. I own nothing here. Also, this one is NOT for the kiddies, mature elements and language.

--

He stood atop the building, staring out at the Cleveland skyline. Black coat flapping in the wind, he stared out into the darkness, specked with tail lights and insomniacs televisions. A scream sounded and he turned his head, tuning in.

Jumping from the ledge, he dove into the darkness.

The quiet rooftop was soon filled with the crunch of boots on gravel as she rushed to the side, staring over where he just jumped. Sighing, she pulled her hair back into a ponytail. "Another black coat. Great. This one better not be all broody." She ran along the ledge and dove, grabbing the fire escape and rushing down the aged metal much quieter than could be expected. "I gotta learn how he does that."

--

"Oh god no, please don't hurt us!" The girls were backed against the wall of the alley, the taller one trying to shield the others behind her. "We have money, we'll give you everything!"

The leader of the gang stepped up into the light, licking his tongue over his long fang, his long dreads and yellow eyes glinting in the moonlight. "Oh yes you will baby, and we're gonna love every bit of…" he flew out of sight suddenly, hitting the dumpster down the alley. His buddies turned to see what happened to him, looking at each other then the girls, confused.

"Walk away and no one gets hurt."

Every eye snapped over to the darkness, hearing the low growled warning. Heavy footsteps preceded a very large and very angry looking man stepping out of the shadows. A black duster swirled around him, framing dark jeans and a matching shirt with some sort of design on it.

"What the hell are you supposed to be?" one of the attackers snarled, glancing to see if his leader was up yet. A pained groan was the only response.

"A helper." He pointed to the girls. "Leave, now."

The three stared back and forth between the man and the attackers, and then ran down the alley quickly. The tall girl touched his arm as she passed him. "Thank you!"

One of the attackers started moving to stop them, only to be shoved back into his friend by the helper. "No no. Leave the nice girls alone. You're gonna deal with me now."

The leader had finally managed to pick himself up, brushing his clothes off. Touching his mouth, he grunted. "My tooth. Son of a bitch knocked out my tooth! You're gonna get it now hero boy!" He rushed the interloper, his two partners following suit.

The man in black ducked his punches, blocking the kick with his arm before punching his knee in from the side. The attacker hit the ground screaming. The others came at the man from both sides, moving faster than he had seen muggers move before, one lucking out enough to land a punch to his jaw. As the man spun, the dark haired mugger jumped onto his back and pulled his head to the side before snarling and plunging his teeth into his neck.

"AHHH!" The man in black screamed, turning to land a hard kick to the chest of the third attacker. The snarling man kept coming at him, throwing wild punches and kicks. The man in black fought him off, grunting with every punch he threw as the dark haired attacker was still on his back, his teeth stuck in his neck.

Finally having enough of it, he slammed his fist into the face of the mugger on his back, getting him off. Grunting, the man in black reached up to his neck and winced, looking down at his palm and seeing two long extremely sharp teeth. "What the hell are you?"

"They're not human."

He looked up quickly, seeing a young woman leaning against the fire escape.

"And you are…?"

She shrugged. "Just an interested observer. 6 o'clock."

The man in black kicked his foot behind him, blowing out the dark haired mugger's knee, sending him down screaming without ever looking away from the girl. "If they're not human, what are they?"

She looked at him like he had grown another head. "They're vampires. Duh. What do you think you just pulled out of your neck?"

He looked down again, finally noticing that these did look a lot like fangs. Looking around the alley, he noticed all three slowly getting up, their eyes glinting and their faces twisted, abnormal growths on their foreheads. "Vampires."

In everything he had seen, he had to admit it wasn't as farfetched as it should be. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath before looking up at the girl again. "Any hope for them?"

She looked around, biting her lower lip… and shook her head. "Not these. This gang has left a trail of broken, dry bodies all across Cleveland."

He looked back around at the attackers who had rallied. Tossing the teeth down, he brushed his hands off. "No more."

She had to admit that he was definitely not the smoothest she had seen fight, but he was strong. He took a few shots at the attackers she might have deemed unnecessary but she had also taken out frustration on some of the monsters when she deemed it appropriate. She even winced in a tiny bit of sympathy when she saw him slam two of their heads together… with the third one between them. The man in black lifted the three unconscious vamps and carried them over to a dumpster, tossing their limp bodies inside.

"They're not dead. Only taking their head, a stake to the heart, or sunlight can…" She was cut off when the dumpster suddenly lit into a blazing inferno, the flames almost reaching the opposite fire escape with a touch of irony. The fire was enhanced with a big whoosh as burning particles of dust flew into the air. "Wow. Nice touch."

She looked back to where he had been standing, but he wasn't there. Looking back down the alley, she didn't see any sign of him. Had he disappeared into thin air? "Great, another tall, dark and quiet in a black coat with a hero complex." Rubbing her eyes, she sighed, then looked up at the fire escape. "Here we go again."

--

He sat up on the roof of another building, the coat draped over the ledge next to him. Running his fingers over his neck he felt the holes slowly closing, hissing at the pain. He stared at his fingertips, not used to seeing his own blood flow so freely. "You're good you know."

She sighed, stepping out from behind the large air conditioner unit. "How'd you know?"

He sighed, not looking up just yet. "Let's just say I have good hearing. Didn't pick you up until you were about two rooftops away this time."

She crossed and sat down across from him. "This time? You knew I was here before?"

He nodded. "And the teams that were sneaking up on me the past couple of weeks. Yours I take it?" He lifted his gaze, staring up at her.

She nodded. "Yea. We have a group here that patrols, checking in on the night life. They told me there was a cute guy in a black coat hanging around rooftops who would disappear suddenly, and they weren't sure if you were honorable or not. No one had managed to find you in action so far, just really beaten down bloodsuckers and demons."

Sighing he rubbed his hands together. "This makes a lot of sense now. I… I wasn't sure what I was seeing some times. I just hit it until it was unconscious. I noticed a few times they got in a good hit on me, but I can take a hit."

She leaned over a little more, her fingers brushing over his neck near the wound. His hand shot up quickly, gripping her wrist and his eyes burnt into hers. "What are you doing?"

"Just checking your wound. It didn't look like he had an easy time with you, was he stuck in your neck?" She pulled a scrap of fabric out of her pocket and dabbed at the wound, cleaning it off.

The man in black nodded. "I guess I'm chewier than the normal fares around here."

She made a face at his tasteless joke, tossing the messy scrap of fabric away. "Yea well, you did a good job with them. I'm more of a fan of the stake, just jam it in and make sure you don't inhale."

He stood suddenly, walking away from her, rubbing the back of his neck.

Standing quickly, she walked up behind him. "Are you ok?" She reached out to touch his arm and suddenly was pulled around in front of him, being held in the air easily.

"Look, not that I don't appreciate the tips, but I just technically killed three… beings. And I don't know you. So pardon me for not being all that interested in your brand of 'pillow talk'."

She grunted, not appreciative of being held in the air like a disobeying child. "Lemme down!"

Raising an eyebrow, he slowly lowered her down… and down… and down. She hadn't seemed this short up on the fire escape.

Straightening her coat out with a huff, she looked up at him. "Thank you." Now that she finally took the time to really look without also keeping an eye on the vampires she had to admit, he was… damn fine. Scruffy black hair, blue eyes, broad shoulders and chest… _"Whoa, down girl."_ She shook her head. "So what are you doing here in my city?"

His lips finally curled up slightly into a grin. "Your city? And just who might you be exactly?"

Crossing her arms and lifting up on her toes to try to look more imposing, she spoke in a serious tone. "Buffy… the Vampire Slayer. Welcome to the Hellmouth. And you are?"

Looking around the alley, he sighed. "They call me the Blur."

She had to stifle a giggle. "The Blur? And why would they call you that?" Before she finished her question, he was gone. Looking around she heard a whistle and looked behind her, seeing him on the top of the 10 story building across the street, and then he was gone, standing right in front of her again.

"That answer your question?"

She could only stare with wide eyes, shocked at this development. "Wh… wow."

Letting himself relax a little, he held his hand out to her. "Clark. Clark Kent. Nice to meet you Buffy."

--

The door swung open while she pulled her keys out of the lock, stepping aside to let him in. "It's not much at all, but it's currently home. Make yourself comfortable." She shut the door after he stepped inside, then dropped her keys on the counter, pulling her coat off.

Clark pulled his duster off and tossed it over the sofa, sitting down with a groan… the sofa, not him.

"Want anything to drink? We have water and… wow, how did that get two weeks past the expiration date? We have water." She glanced over his shoulder at him.

He nodded, rubbing a hand over his face. "We?"

She brought two bottles over, handing him one. "My little sister crashes here now and then when she's in town, but she's back at the Council helping them track down other slayers."

He nodded. "So what do you do when you're not tracking down these… monsters?"

"I train other girls with the same abilities as me. There used to be only a couple of us, now there are thousands. Some major mojo got worked back in my old hometown a couple years ago, and now there's one less city and a lot more slayers. It's a pretty intense gig, and there's nothing like trying to convince a bunch of pubescent know-it-alls that the world isn't all about boys, clothes and prom. We have to deal with monsters, demons, even some normal people who dabble in the occult, witchcraft and magic." She shrugged like it was a normal, everyday thing to say.

Taking a swig of water, Clark sighed. "Magic. I hate magic." He turned his head slightly, looking deep in thought, then turned back to face her. "One less city?"

"Yea. Apparently when you destroy a Hellmouth, you bring the city down on top of it. At least we learned that lesson on a smaller California town than, say… Cleveland. Pretty sure some Indians and Browns fans would be upset about that." She tsk-ed and took a drink from her water bottle.

He chuckled softly. "You don't strike me as the sports type. Or the 'I care what others think' type."

"I will have you know I was a damn good cheerleader… until the gym burnt down once," she muttered as she took another drink.

He laughed a little louder. "I was a quarterback. State champs senior year."

"Wow. I bet you were hell on the field. Pass and receive all by yourself?"

He shook his head. Reaching out to the coffee table he picked up a section of the newspaper, slowly and gently folding the paper into an origami swan. "I can control it, keep myself back to human levels."

He held the bird up to her, when she suddenly felt a rush of cold air. Taking the paper bird gently, she was shocked to feel it frozen solid, hard as ice. "Whoa."

Clark smiled, before staring intently at the bird and it suddenly felt warmer in her hand. Touching the wings she felt normal, albeit warm paper. "How… how did you…?"

Licking his lips, he looked at her. She was still staring at the bird, gently bending the wings down, unable to believe that it had been frozen and was now normal again. This woman had opened herself up to him, and hadn't judged him so far… could he be honest with her? There was something special about her too, she wasn't exactly the run of the mill gorgeous blonde..._ "Whoa, gorgeous? Where'd that come from?"_

"Penny for your thoughts?" He glanced up to see her looking at him, a small grin on her face.

"I just… I've spent most of my life hiding behind secrets. My best friends, my girlfriends, classmates, even my grandfather, all of them were kept in the dark. And right now, part of me is saying that I could tell you all about myself, and you wouldn't betray me. And… I've never had that feeling this quickly." He busied his hands playing with the cap of his water bottle, unable to look up at her.

Buffy was shocked by that. She was very familiar with keeping secrets, but since she came to Sunnydale, she had always had a support system to help her out. She knew what happened to slayers that were on their own, they were all dead by early twenties at the latest. She had just hit… that wasn't important. "So you didn't have anyone helping you out?"

"I did have my best friends, until one had to leave town. Then at one point my girlfriend, but she's… gone." His tone told her that subject was better left untouched. "And my cousin was helping out, but now she's searching for her family. And uh… I was on a team until a few weeks ago. Something went wrong with an operation and that's… not me anymore. It's better for everyone if I'm alone." Crushing the bottle, he tossed it into the trash can across the room, standing quickly. "I shouldn't be here. You have enough going on, you don't need me adding to it."

Confused by the quick turn this had taken, Buffy could only watch as he stood and pulled his coat on quickly. Finally snapping out of her trance, and after his strong, muscular arms were covered by the long sleeves of his duster, she jumped up. "What? Wait, there's no reason you have to go. Trust me, I can take care of myself Clark, and it's not like danger's always knocking at my…"

Rapid knocking on the door drew both their attention. After a moment of staring, she glanced back at him as she walked over to it. "Ok that was really bad timing, one minute." Pulling the door open, she was shocked to see one of her lieutenants. "Vi? What's going on, what's wrong?"

The redhead stumbled into the room, cradling her arm in a makeshift sling. "Buffy, the team… we were going after a nest under the library and we were…" She broke off and looked up at the new guy. "Ummm, hi." She turned to her leader. "Buffy, I was… training with the… bird watching team and I had an accident, tripped over the curb and landed really badly. My arm is pretty banged up, but the others are…"

Buffy held up a hand. "It's cool, he's a white hat."

Vi exhaled, flopping down on the couch. "Oh thank god, I had no idea how I was going to code 'We were going after a nest under the library but they had a clan of demons with them so we got trashed and most of the girls were stuck while me and another one got out'. The bird watching team thing was off the cuff."

Buffy grabbed her coat and crossed the room, opening a chest and grabbing a dagger. Tucking it into the back of her belt, she picked up a single blade axe. "Get back to headquarters and update them, I'm going to get the girls out."

"Buffy wait, you can't go in there alone! Twelve of us were no match for them, we didn't even get half the vampires!"

Swinging the axe around in her hand, she looked across the room. "Up for another tussle?"

Clark looked at the girl on the couch, seeing how she had been hurt. And there were ten more in trouble. He nodded. "But I'm driving."

--

Clark set Buffy down on the ground outside the loading dock in the back of the library. Glancing around, he used his vision to look for any tunnels or access to the "nest" below. "Did Vi say how they…" he stopped his question seeing that she was bent over, trying to keep the green on her face from hitting the ground at her feet. "Are you ok?"

She held a hand up, motioning for one moment. Standing, she took a deep breath. "Never… ever do that again."

Raising an eyebrow, he looked around the loading dock doors. "Did they say how they got in?"

"There's a passage in the loading dock, under one of the trucks. But there's only one way in, that's how they were caught, the door isn't exactly stealth friendly." She walked up to the door, holding up the padlock and sighing. Lifting the axe, she reared back to snap it off.

"Wait." She looked back to see Clark looking down at the ground. "They'll see us too. A different entrance will be better." His eyes focused on a spot on the concrete, then went wide. "We don't have time for stealth though, hope you like shock and awe." Stepping back, Clark jumped high in the air, spinning upside down and slamming his fists into the ground, jack hammering with his fists through concrete and earth, sending it flying up behind him.

Buffy waited for the dirt to stop flying before jumping down into the hole and rushing after Clark. Halfway down she heard a loud roar, and ran faster. Bursting through the brand new door, she saw her girls in a cage in the middle of the room, surrounded by at least two dozen vampires and a slew of demons , at least 8 feet tall with claws and huge sharp teeth lumbering around the room. Their attention was now on Clark as he fought his way toward the girls.

She dove down into the fray, swinging the axe. One of the demons rushed her, growling. Ducking out of the way of a handful of claws she twisted, slamming the axe into the back of his head. She had to drop to miss the flow of blood and fluids. "Oh god. Not these guys again." Pulling the axe out of the twitching body she turned to her new partner in crime fighting. "Clark! They're Omeh demons! They have blood lust, vamps have been corralling and using them for enforcers!" She was cut off by a sharp hit from behind. Rolling with the impact she pulled the dagger from her belt and spun, opening up the monster behind her.

Clark shoved the demons surrounding him back and jumped, snapping a kick to one's face and knocking it down. "How about them, any hope for these demons?"

"No! They're killing machines, out for blood no matter what!"

Taking a deep breath, Clark jumped back into the fray, fighting through the group. The monsters screamed, falling to the ground with pained growls. Making his way to the next group he yelled out, turning around and seeing one of the monsters swiping at the back of his leg, shredding his jeans.

Twisting around, Clark cracked his neck, feeling his body tense up… this was new territory for him, this was far beyond anything he had to deal with in Smallville. Opening his eyes, they glowed red in the dim light of the cavern.

But this was part of the real world. And innocent people were dying nightly here.

Buffy was making her way to the vampires around the cage, staking them as she could, ducking attacks as they rushed her. Swinging the axe in a wide arc she took several heads from bodies, blinking through the dust as it filled the air. Stepping up, she pulled the stake back and prepared to slam it into the next bloodsuckers chest when a horrible scream filled the cave.

The girls, Buffy, and even the vampires turned to see the new warrior dispatching the Omeh demons with extreme prejudice. Protruding bones, burning flesh and what she only imagined could be pleas for mercy assaulted their senses.

He was swarmed quickly be the remaining demons. They grabbed his arms, trying to pin him down. One was dispatched with a full blast of heat vision to the head, dropping it easily. Pulling his right arm free, Clark slammed his fist into another monster's face only for it to open its mouth and bite down hard on Clark's arm. Screaming he kicked his foot out, hitting the body hard enough to snap the demon's head off at the neck. With another moving quickly to take its place Clark had to just react, using the head wrapped around his forearm as a grotesque boxing glove.

Snapping out of her stupor, Buffy dusted the nearest vamp easily and using the distraction, snapped the lock off the cage with her axe. "Come on girls, let's go, dispatch and dust." The remaining vampires were no match for the slayers being led by the original Slayer, most of them trying to run, using the regular exit and even the new one Clark had made. The slayers ran to catch them before they could get away, leaving Buffy to stare in morbid fascination.

He was destroying the demons. There was no grace, no fluidity to his movements, this was pure, primal, animalistic rage erupting from inside of him. Buffy was shocked and even a little scared at the efficiency with which Clark killed the monsters.

But the Slayer found it beautiful.

Slamming his fist through the last demon, Clark's face was twisted with pain and anger. Ripping his fist out of the falling body he looked around, seeing the remaining girls dispatching vampires. Then his eyes found her. She was staring at him, a look on her face he couldn't place. Was it disgust? Pride?

He didn't have time to dwell, seeing a demon stand behind her from behind the platform with the cage. "BUFFY RUN!"

She twisted in time to be hit with a clawed swipe, ripping at her shirt and stomach. She raised the axe for the kill shot but the demon blocked her arm followed with a punch to the face, knocking her to the floor of the cavern. She scrambled back, looking for a weapon as it approached her. As the demon raised both clawed hands, she tried to kick out at it.

The next thing she knew she was covering up to avoid most of the blood splattering. Peeking from between her arms she saw a long bone sticking out of the demon's face before it slumped to the ground, dead. Scrambling to her feet she looked around and saw Clark's arm still extended. He must have thrown whatever he could find. She limped over toward him, a gash through her leg from one of the vampire's attacks. "Are you ok Clark?"

He didn't answer. He could only look around at the floor of the cave, seeing what he had done. Blood and bodies littered the ground and he was responsible. These were mindless killing machines but still… He looked up at Buffy, his lips cracked to speak, but he couldn't find the words. Shaking his head softly, he was gone suddenly, rushing out of the "door" he had made in the ground.

She grunted in frustration. "Dammit, that is getting old." Picking up her axe she limped up the stairs to check in on her girls, knowing that she could eventually find him.

--

The storm rumbled through the city, rattling windows on the skyscrapers. He sat atop the tallest one he could find, staring out at the city. This wasn't his city, this was nowhere near his comfort zone. Clark was used to dealing with bank robbers, muggers and apartment fires.

He stared down at his hands. A flash of lightning illuminated them, showing the remaining traces of blood that stained his skin. He brushed them off on his jeans quickly, wanting to erase every memory of tonight.

"It's not that easy."

He didn't even turn around. He figured she'd find him soon enough. "What's not?"

She stepped up and sat on the edge with him. "The blood on your hands. No matter how many times you tell yourself that it's not a human's, that it was necessary, it doesn't make it any easier to get rid of it." She reached out, brushing her fingers over the bite marks on his arm. The rain was cleaning up most of his skin, but there was still a deep red hue. "You know you saved those girls. And me."

Clark sighed. "I… I don't like killing. I try to figure out something else, another way to deal with them. A couple of times they… they haven't made it." His eyes closed tightly, images of Titan flashing before him. "How do you do this?"

She patted his arm… for comforting reasons. She wasn't taking notice of his big muscles or his strong arm. "You get used to it as you go."

He stood quickly, grabbing his coat from where it lay next to him on the ledge and throwing it hard across the roof.

Buffy heard it slap against the door and metal creak. Even fabric was a weapon in his strong… in his hands. She wasn't worried that Clark would hurt her, but she knew this was delicate ground she was stepping on. "Clark… calm down."

"I don't want to get used to this. I don't want this. I don't want to ever have to do that again! I'm not a killer!" Heat poured off him in waves, raindrops hissing in tiny explosions of steam when they hit his skin.

Buffy stood to face him. "You saved us, Clark. There was no way I would have been able to save those girls alone, and the other team wouldn't have been there in time. You saved them. And me." She stepped closer, touching his chest, her hand splaying over the symbol on his shirt. "Yes, you had to kill. And yes it is hard, but they were demons Clark. Monsters who have no compassion or pity for what they've done or who they've done it to. Where do you think the bone you killed the last demon with came from? The floor was littered with their past victims. And you… stopped… them."

Clark's body was shaking, trying to suppress his emotions. "I still don't like it."

Buffy nodded gently. Her lips curled up slightly. "Well, if it helps any, at least you were really good at it."

His breathing stopped. Slowly he lifted his head and glared up at her. His eyes burning red, nostrils flaring.

Buffy shrank back slightly. _"Obviously not the right thing to say."_

"I don't want to be good at this. I don't want to be this guy. I don't want any part of this do you understand me?" He stepped closer to her. "I killed those things, and maybe it was necessary, but I want no part of this bullshit!"

Buffy's eyes flared. "Bullshit? This is my life, my calling. This isn't bullshit, _Mr. Blur_!" She poked him in the chest. "You work to protect people too, why is your way so much better than mine? What makes you better than me? We fight the same fight against different enemies, different battles in the same war. So what do you have against the way I fight?" she screamed in his face, her anger matching his now.

"BECAUSE I FUCKING LOVED IT!"

Many quiet moments passed between them, only the sounds of their hard breathing and the raindrops on the rooftop. The lighting would flash, showing the pained look on his face after admitting that.

Buffy finally moved, gently stroking Clark's cheek. "Clark. It's… that doesn't make you a bad person."

He stepped away, brushing her hand from his face. "I… everyday, I have to be so careful. I have to watch what I do, what I touch. I can never lose my temper. I have to look at these… bastards who endanger people, drunk drivers and robbers who don't care who they hurt, and I have to be so gentle so I don't hurt THEM!" He kicked out, sending a small air conditioner vent at the door to the roof with a loud crash.

She didn't move. She just stared at the missing brick from where the air conditioner hit the small area of the building. "And tonight you didn't have to. They needed to be dealt with… and you could finally let go." She turned to face him slowly, sympathy written on her face. His back was to her, his shoulders shaking, his body almost humming with energy.

Clark nodded, his arms shaking. "It felt… good. Not having to hold back. I've only been able to really do that once before, but I didn't kill him. He died by his own weapon. But he was like me. He was… just like me." He turned to face her. "What does it make me, if I enjoyed killing those things? Am I no better than them? Am I a monster, like them? I'm not human, what's to keep me from turning into that?"

She moved quickly, stepping up to him. "You're not going to turn into them. You are better than that Clark. The fact you're up here worrying about it means that you're never going to turn into that. You're a better man than that."

Clark scoffed. "You just met me, how do you know what kind of man I am?" He stomped across the roof to stand on the ledge, wind whipping around him.

Grunting, she pulled her soaked coat off and tossed it away. "Because even though I got you into this, I'm pretty sure you won't let me go splat."

His brow furrowed. "Splat? What are you talking…?" He turned around to look at her just in time to see her rush past him, pushing off the ledge and diving out into the open air, rushing at the ground 57 stories below.

Clark's eyes went wide. "What the…?" He was diving into the open air before he could even finish his thought.

Buffy had twisted, staring up as she rushed to the ground. She saw him jump after her, she had known he would. This was crazy, but she didn't have the patience to deal with another tall, dark and broody.

Clark stretched his arms out to grab her, already halfway down. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

She just smiled. "Told you you wouldn't let me go splat!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs locked behind his.

"That was the stupidest, craziest, most asinine thing I've seen anyone do, Buffy! You didn't know if I could catch you!"

"Clark."

"Do you always do this? Diving off buildings, smiling when you fall to your death?"

"Clark."

"Of all the crazy, stupid, moronic…"

"CLARK!!!"

He snapped out of his tirade, looking into her eyes.

Buffy smiled. "I haven't gone splat yet."

He looked around suddenly, noticing that they were at a standstill in mid air, fifty feet above the ground. "What the hell?"

Buffy looked around. "As cool as this is, maybe you should take us somewhere a little less conspicuous?"

He shook his head. "I can't… I can't fly."

She looked at him skeptically, then at the ground. "Well, apparently the laws of physics say phooey to that."

"You don't understand, I've never flown on my own before. This is… this is the first time. I don't know how to control it."

"Well, seeing as how we're already up and up, how about you concentrate on the away and we'll go from there?" She grinned at him. "I believe in you."

He looked back at her, seeing trust and acceptance in her eyes. With a quick nod, Clark held one arm out slowly, concentrating. His body moved, inch by inch, until they were back upright. He grinned slightly, and then looked up into the sky. Slowly they rose back into the air, the storm rushing around him and Buffy. The wind threw him off here and there, but he managed to right himself. They were back up level with the roof. "I… I did it."

Buffy ruffled his hair. "Yup, you did. Good job." She leaned back, touching his shirt. "Any other tricks up your sleeve, Stupendous Man?"

He chuckled. "That's not what it stands for."

"Seems to fit to me." She shrugged. "So what suddenly brought out the Wright Brother inside?"

He opened his mouth… but he had no idea what to say. He stared at the woman in his arms. She was like him. Special, strong… tortured. She was beautiful, but with a past no one should have had to endure. She had lost things because of this fight, like him. But she was still fighting, like him. She was so strong…

Clark brushed his thumb over a cut on her cheek. "I think you did."

Buffy was speechless. This was… wow. "I… How?"

"You're like me. You fight, even at the risk it will keep you from finding your own peace. There are thousands of others now like you, but you still take the lead. You try to help. And you make me feel…" He couldn't finish that one. He had no idea how to put it into words. She lit a fire under him, she brought him into a gruesome, horrific world unlike any he'd seen, and she had watched his demons come out. But she didn't judge him. She understood.

"Make you feel what?"

Clark licked his lips… and crushed them against hers. His arm wrapped around her, holding her tight against his chest.

She was in shock. She was in mid air, a thousand feet above the ground, being kissed very well by a hot man with so many secrets. This was so wrong on so many levels.

Her arms tightened around his neck and she kissed him back, deeply.

His blood was boiling, skin on fire after the fight. Able to just let go finally, he felt another desire, another need gnawing at him.

Their clothes fell through the air in tatters, landing on the rooftops. Buffy felt his large hands rubbing over her body, making her moan. His fingers playing over her skin, the spots that made her tremble. His tongue tickling at her neck. She hadn't felt this in so long.

Clark hissed, feeling her nails drag across his back. She was able to touch him like no one else could. He felt her teeth on his throat, making him growl low and loud. Her hands moved around his back, around to his front, tracing his abs before grabbing at him, making him hiss again.

They rose higher into the storm, rain pelting them, steam rising from the heat surrounding their bodies. She guided him, her back arching when he gave in, thrusting.

Strong muscles throbbing, wet skin sliding, two eager people rocking together in sync. Her hands grasped at him, digging into buns of steel, shrieking into the stormy night.

Buffy trembled, her body quivering. Her hands slid back up, cupping his face. "Look at me Clark."

He pulled back, staring into her eyes, lost in them. "So beautiful."

They rose together, gasping for air, rushing to the crescendo. Lighting flashes illuminating their coupling, thunder masking their cries of passion.

She arched back, her arms flung out and legs locked tight around him, screaming into the night.

He clutched her tight, his hands at her back, pulling her tight against him as he thrust once more, screaming with her.

One final bolt of lightning struck the rooftop, lighting them, showing a flash of their togetherness before they sank back into the darkness… together.

--

She sat in his lap, both of them huddled under the overhang of the doorway to the roof he had been standing on. His duster was wrapped around her, dried from his heat vision. The storm was moving on, soft rumbles of thunder shaking the buildings. The last drops of rain fell to the roof with soft patters.

He chuckled, his chest rumbling beneath her cheek.

"What's so funny?" she turned to look up to his face.

He shook his head. "I was just thinking. This is honestly the last thing that was on my mind when I came to this city."

She chuckled too, burying her face in his chest. Even after everything tonight he smelled good, their bodies washed clean by the rain. "Yea well… cleaning out a nest, taking out a couple of gangs, and then a high altitude love fest, welcome to Cleveland, thanks for taking the Buffy tour."

He arched an eyebrow. "Every tourist you meet gets this tour?"

She slapped him in the chest… not so lightly.

He grunted. "Owww. I was kidding."

She glared at him. "No you jerk, you're the first. In a very, very long time."

He nodded. "So were you. In longer than my ego will like admitting to."

She smiled. She felt secure and safe right now. She wasn't used to this feeling. She was the one who helped others and made them feel all happy and content. But for someone to do that for her… it was new, and enticing. And scary as hell if she was honest with herself.

He reached for her hand, tracing his thumb over her palm gently. "This is… the first time I've felt content in I don't even know how long."

She looked up into his eyes, and couldn't help but notice the same things she was feeling. But she could also see the fear and uncertainty. Sighing, she twisted in his lap, ignoring the low rumble she heard him make. "This is so nice. Too nice."

He stared at the rooftop, unable to meet her gaze. He nodded slightly. "I know. This is… this is your town. And, as much as I want to help, I have my own obligations. And honestly, I'm more than a little scared of what might happen if I gave in too many times like last night."

She squeaked. If he gave in like last night? Did he regret this? Did he regret them?

He looked at her finally, seeing the hurt on her face. "No no no… I meant the fight. What if I kept doing that, night after night? What if… I liked it too much? What if I forget how to protect my own city, my own people? I can't try to disarm a man with a gun to a child's head and react like I would against a demon. I can't get too comfortable with that. Please understand that?"

She nodded, touching his cheek again. "I get it. I really do." She leaned closer, kissing him again, resting her forehead against his. "We both have our destinies. But promise me one thing, ok?" She took both his hands in hers.

Clark nodded, squeezing her hands. "Anything."

"Promise me you will never doubt that you, Clark Kent, are an amazing, strong, gorgeous…" she giggled at his blush,"… kind and… stupendous man." She smiled at her little joke.

He tried to look perturbed, but his smile came through. "I promise."

"Good." She stood slowly, seeing the sun crest over the horizon as dawn approached. "Now, get those flaps up and get me back to my apartment before the sun is all the way up, the whole nudist thing doesn't really agree with me."

He looked up at her appreciatively. "I have to disagree with that. Strongly."

She set her jaw, willing herself not to look down. "Fine, just for that, I'm wearing the coat, you can fly bare ass all the way to my apartment." She finally glanced down when she grabbed his coat up, wrapping it around herself. "But be careful. We don't want to take out a satellite dish with that thing. And windburn is gonna be a bitch."

--

"Wow Smallville, I'm gone for a few weeks and you've already forgotten rule 1 of reporting?"

He sighed, looking across the desk. "No Lois, I know my source. Just because I won't tell you, doesn't mean I don't know myself. You'll have to track down your own lead this time." He grinned at her, knowing it drove her crazy when he had the upperhand.

Lois huffed. "Fine, but don't screw up. I don't want people thinking my protégé can't handle himself."

He laughed. "Lois, I'm not your protégé, I'm your partner."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself Smallville."

He turned back to his computer, pulling up the incident report on the burglary that morning, another one foiled by the Blur.

He had been back for over a month now. He had come back to Metropolis with a new purpose. He knew what was out there, more of what went bump in the night. And maybe he'd run into it again eventually, but for now he was in his city to protect his people.

The Blur was back.

"Kent!"

He looked up the stairwell, seeing one of the guys from the mailroom waving at him. "Yea?"

"You got a visitor at the desk."

Sighing, he closed and locked his computer, sure that Lois was messing with him in order to try to get a peek at his notes. Hustling up the stairs he headed to the front desk. Leaning against it, he got the woman's attention between phone calls. "Kent, I was told I have a visitor?"

"Yes they're…" the woman glanced over to the seating area, confused. "I… I asked them to sit right there."

He looked around the waiting area. "Was it a man, woman?"

The receptionist shrugged. "I'm sorry, the phones have been crazy and Jake said he'd give you the shout, he was on his way to your floor." She shrugged.

After one more glance around, he tapped the desk, nodding. "Thanks anyway, have a good day." He was on his way back to the desk, prepared to bust Lois going through his desk. He pulled his notepad out of his back pocket, smirking. She was getting too predictable. He hit the floor and was heading to his desk when…

"Sheesh Smallville, a visitor up front and now one tracks you to your desk? Someone's getting to be Mr. Popular."

He turned to face her at the coffee station when another voice busted in.

"Smallville, huh? That's not how I remember it."

His eyes narrowed. _"That sounded like… couldn't be…"_

He turned around and there she was. Golden hair glowing in the light from the windows, white blouse and blue jeans were a stretch from what she wore the last time he saw her. She sat on the edge of his desk, smiling at him… that smile.

"I thought you were still in Cleveland?" He walked closer to her.

She shrugged, sliding off the desk. "Well you know, there are perks to being the boss. You have plenty of underlings to look after things for you while you take a little vacation."

"How long of a vacation?" He slid down into his chair, unable to take his eyes off of her.

She stepped closer, biting at her lower lip. "I don't really know. Think it's too early to retire?"

Clark laughed loudly then. "You, retire? I don't see that happening anytime soon."

She raised an eyebrow. "Ok, maybe you have a point. But a girl can dream. And I was serious about the vacation thing. If only I knew someone that had some land, maybe in the country, and could take me away from the big city life." She huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "Any idea where I can find one of those guys?"

He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I think I might be able to find one somehow."

She smiled at him, leaning in closer, her hands on the arms of his chair. "Well, I think I'd be very interested to meet him." She was leaning closer in to his lips.

"Gonna introduce me to your friend there Smallville?"

Clark groaned, sliding his hands over hers before he stood up. "Lois Lane, this is Buffy Summers. Buffy, this is my partner, Lois Lane."

Lois stuck her hand out. "I prefer mentor personally. Nice to meet you."

Buffy shook her hand. "You too. Partners huh? Any good embarrassing stories about Clark here?"

Lois just grinned. "Ohhhh you and I need to talk. Lunch, on Clark's tab?"

Buffy grinned. "Sounds good."

Lois put her arm around Buffy's shoulder, heading toward the door to the cafeteria. "Are you a fan of Elmer Fudd?"

Shaking his head, Clark sat back down at his desk. He pulled up the inter-office paperwork program, looking for the vacation request form.

"Let's go Smallville. You're buying."

He grumbled. "In a minute."

He heard a shrill whistle. "Come on sweety, I'm hungry, now!"

He stood up quickly, ripping the form out of his printer. "Gotta get those two away from each other. Now."


End file.
